Malaysia's Petronas raises US$3b from bond offering

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S national oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad, or Petronas, said on Friday it had raised US$3 billion from a bond offering to refinance debt and for other corporate purposes.

The issuance was 2.46 times the initial offer size, and a 40-year bond tranche was the largest ever by a South-east Asian issuer, the company said in a statement. "Supported by strong investor demand, Petronas was able to upsize the transaction size to US$3 billion based on total demand of US$7.4 billion," it said.

The offering included US$1.25 billion of 10.75-year and US$1.75 billion of 40-year conventional notes.

The 10.75-year senior notes were priced at 92.5 basis points (bps) over the 10-year US Treasury yield for a coupon of 2.48 per cent, and the 40-year senior notes were priced 115 bps over the 30-year US Treasury for a coupon of 3.404 per cent.

Last month, Petronas' subsidiary, Petronas Energy Canada, raised US$600 million from another bond offering to fund production and refinance debt.

Petronas has taken a hit from the coronavirus pandemic which has reduced fuel demand.

Earlier this year, the state-owned company posted its third quarterly loss in a row and warned that the outlook remained challenging. REUTERS